The Haggard Scandal.
Everyone else has weighed in on this, so I might as well too.
When the story of Ted Haggard's 'indiscretions' broke, I must say that I was somewhat pleased...
Yes, pleased.
I mean, here's a guy who is supposedly a follower of Jesus Christ - the One who loved everyone - but I never heard a lot of love in Haggard's message.
Haggard liked to point out other's sins, he blatantly attached his theology to partisan politics and he seemed to take a perverse delight in others' shortcomings...
We now know that Haggard himself sinned (in what has become a very public way) and he let a lot of people down.
I am not one of those who shared Ted Haggard's theological beliefs and I definitely did not like his politics (forgive me for stating the obvious here) .
I have also made comments specifically about him (and others) to the effect that if anyone is that rabidly anti-gay then there must be some ominous reason for that... hint, hint.
I should feel vindicated in my opinions. Haggard has proven me right after all!
And I am justified in my glee at his downfall.
Right?
Wrong!
What I'm actually feeling right now is that I'm not much better than Ted Haggard.
Maybe I'm not better at all. Maybe I'm worse.
It's true that I have never cheated on my spouse with another man (nor another woman for that matter, just in case you're wondering) and I've never bought illicit drugs or done some of the other things that Haggard has been accused of.
But I have succumbed to some of the very things that I so despise in people like Haggard.
Namely, gleefully pointing out other people's sins, saying, 'I told you so' in this case and generally feeling better about this sorry fiasco than I should simply because I disagree with Haggard's political and theological views.
The truth is that Ted Haggard is a very confused and lost individual. Yes, he sinned. But don't we all?
Yes, he has misled people, disappointed people and made a mess of his life. The same could be said for many, many others...
Ted Haggard remains a human being. Ted Haggard is a child of God. Ted Haggard needs help and he needs our prayers.
At this point I can only hope that he comes out of this mess with a different understanding of himself and the world around him. I hope that he finds a new lease on life and can make something positive come out of all this.
Who knows what that could be, but I believe it is possible.
There is a part of me that really doesn't want to, but I'm praying for Ted Haggard nevertheless.
And I'm praying some very similar things for myself...
posted by Art @ 1:37 AM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
It is a very sad story. It will be a difficult road to recovery and healing for his wife, his family and himself.
Unfortunately, it seems to be true that those most opposed to something are often hiding that very same sin in their own life.
Sin separates us from God no matter what the sin and we all need to be careful lest we too fall.
You are very right in your conclusion.
Well put, though it does not suprise me I am sorry to hear about this. I am hoping that we'll stop hero worshipping these preachers and realize they are just men like us. We follow them so blindly we forget they too can fail.
OK, thank goodness you said the first name TED---for a minute I thought you meant Merle, and I was confused...
I never heard of this guy. And by the sound of it, that is a positive thing...
What a mess this whole thing is. Shameful for the Church, shameful for our our country and media. Prayer is definitely our only hope.
Thanks to you all and, of course, I agree.
And while this is a totally NOT funny subject, I just cannot get the idea of Susan imagining Merle Haggard embroiled in a gay sex scandal outta my head. LOL!
Yahoo! has an article out right now that asks what happens to the members of the fellowship once a pastor falls from grace? Well, if the members are following man rather than God, they will leave. My concern is whether the members of any congregation understand that they do not go to church, they are the church. Unfortunately, we have divided ourselves into so many different groups that we have forgotten that there is only one church, and Christ Jesus is the head of that church. Since Jesus built the church, God can set us as members wherever He feels that we will be best fitted. Yet so many of us decide that we will attend a fellowship because we like the music, the pastor, or any other reason besides submitting to God and being set in a fellowship that He feels is best for us. This is why the true church struggles. We have thousands of people attending megachurches that do not even belong there, so God's will cannot be accomplished because people are not in their right place. We must understand that as one body, we have created this situation. How do we begin to correct it? Go to the Lord, and find out where He desires for us to be set, and begin carrying out our assignment at that fellowship.
Thanks for the wise words, Ron. I do think that the style of worship is important (music, preaching style, etc.) in that we need to feel comfortable and 'at home' in our places of worship. But many tend to put TOO much emphasis on that sort of thing and the result is that they (we?) tend to think of those things as defining 'church'.
You very correctly point out that 'church' means people - ALL the people - not just the defined leadership (clergy, episcopacy, however our denominations define it).
When we get away from that, we risk doing Churchianity as opposed to living Christianity (or Christ-following) and that can easily become a cult of personality rather that following the LORD.
honest - if painful - assessment of yourself. Well done.
Ted Haggard's fall hurts all of us - but if we learn the lesson that ministry comes before theology - then it will not have been wasted.
I grieve for him, for his family, but also for me and you. It could have been us - but for the grace of God - never ever forget that.
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